Nutrition on the road - What, How and Why?

I can't get it right at moment. Currently using Hammer gels and powder and a lot of water (too expensive) but still feeling flakey after about 100 of 130km Saturday club ride. The problem is heat and humidity. 27-32 degs and 95-100% humidity. Singapore.

Any nitritionalists got any homemade potions that might work?

No electrolytes?

When I tour I do an average of 140km a day without electrolytes. Just drink little & often. I sometimes added a bit of salt and a squeezed lemon to one of my water bottles, which worked a treat. Chewing down some nuts every 10/15 minutes or so, starting before you get hungry of course, also works well. I like (salted)macadamias as they don't usually leave to much nut rests in your mouth and are easier to wash down.

Given you wish to cut costs, how about a sliced or mashed banana sandwich at 50km, washed down with water? There's lots of sodium in bread & there's sugar and potassium in the banana.

Evaporative cooling might be difficult where the relative humidity is so high but wetting clothes and hat with water is often helpful.

Currently I'm trying This set up: one bottle of hammer perpetuam, 2 bottles of water, one in Jersey. Hammer gels x6. It's a 34km ave ride, flat but hot. Not getting dropped but really flagging by the end. And it's all freaking expensive.

I've made up a batch of the DIY cliffs bars (up thread) and will try adding a pinch of salt to them too next time. According to the blurb perpetuam should have 'everything I need.'

I think the simple fact is more fitness needed.

And bananas! Jeez, obvious is obvious!!

^ You won the lotery or?

Try making some of these. I still enjoy them a lot on rides. Instead of making portions before baking, make one big fella and cut it up afterwards.

So I was experimenting a bit with foods for 4+h training rides as imo bars are way too fucking expensive. Then theres a lot of recipies around for flap-jacks or malt loaf but most of them are with much fat and/or processed sugar, which I don't like.

Some important characteristics I wanted for the food were:

• Healthy
  
• Fast & slow carbs
  
• Low fat
  
• Easy to bring in jersey pocket
  
• Easy digestible
  
• Not crumbly nor sticky, too dry or too soggy
  
• Taste good
  
  

Finally I did this recipe:

Ingredients
2 bananas (Preferably very ripe ones)
2 tbsp honey
2 handful studentenhaver which is the Dutch name for a blend of raisins and dried nuts
70g rolled oats
50g flour

Pre heat oven 170 degrees
Mash the bananas
Add the other ingredients and mix together
Make 10 portions
Bake for 20 minutes

This pic is of the first batch. The recipe has been changed a bit since but the result looks quite the same.

If you are cycling for over 3 hours consuming 90 g of carbs per hour is optimal for performance and this works best if you consume a mixture of carbs - glucose plus fructose or maltodextrin plus fructose in a 2 : 1 ratio .

You can also make your own cheap and easy sports drink and either Hypotonic -

20 - 40 g sucrose / 1 litre warm water / 1-1.5 g ( 1/4 teaspoon ) salt ( optional ) / sugar-free or low cal squash for flavour ( also optional ) .

Or

100 ml fruit squash / 900 ml water / salt as above again optional

Or

250 ml fruit juice / 750 ml water / salt again optional .

Or to make an Isotonic drink

40 - 80g sucrose / 1 litre warm water / salt option / sugar free low- cal squash for flavour ( optional )

Or

200 ml fruit squash / 800 ml water / salt option

Or

500 ml fruit juice / 500 ml water / salt option .

Chill after preparing !

If you are flagging after a longish distance, you probably need a mixture of carbs. Gels might not cut it as they are too 'quick' and the portions are small. Try bread and jam if you can stomach it.

Thanks all suggestions. Going to try both the above, I had been DIY-ing (pre-finding this thread) with very little success, hence buying a months worth of hammer, and regretting it.

The American 'peanut butter and jelly' (jam) sandwiches are harder to digest but might do the job. They will provide more sustained energy but shouldn't break the bank. Wash down with plenty of water.
Peanuts are rich in magnesium.

^ Read the ingredients, many PBs are more sugar and preservatives than peanuts.

+

Basically.
Refrigeration recommended.

^ Read the ingredients, many PBs are more sugar and preservatives than peanuts.

They do not. This is the ingredients list from Sainsbury's Crunchy peanut butter. It's not their nastiest Basics product, nor a 'premium' pricy thing.

Roasted Peanuts (95%), Brown Cane Sugar, Palm Oil, Sea Salt.

No preservatives and less than 5% sugar.

Do YOU read the ingredients?

Bringing to attention that many PBs do contain these things does not mean all PBs do. Seems you have found one that doesnt, keep up the good work! Anyway, reading the ingredients is always good advice.

I can't find ANY PBs with preservatives and only one with LOTS of sugar as it's 'Lower Fat'.
Most peanut butters are mostly peanuts...

Sainsbury’s Basics PB
Roasted Peanut (87%), Rapeseed Oil, Sugar, Palm Oil, Salt.

Sainsbury’s SO Organic PB
Organic Roasted Peanuts (95%), Organic Palm Oil, Sea Salt.Of the ingredients that can be organic, 100% are organic. Sea salt cannot be organic.

Sainsbury’s 'Be Good to Yourself’ PB (Lower fat so more sugar!)
Roasted Peanuts (67%), Dried Glucose Syrup, Maltodextrin, Palm Oil, Salt

Skippy Smooth PB
Roasted Peanuts (90%), Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Salt, Peanut Oil

Sun Pat Smooth
Roasted Peanuts (94%), Stabiliser (E471), Cane Sugar, Peanut Oil (1.0%),Sea Salt, Total Peanut Ingredients (95%)

Currently I'm trying This set up: one bottle of hammer perpetuam, 2 bottles of water, one in Jersey. Hammer gels x6. It's a 34km ave ride, flat but hot. Not getting dropped but really flagging by the end. And it's all freaking expensive.

I've made up a batch of the DIY cliffs bars (up thread) and will try adding a pinch of salt to them too next time. According to the blurb perpetuam should have 'everything I need.'

I think the simple fact is more fitness needed.

And bananas! Jeez, obvious is obvious!!

Just looked here:
http://www.hammernutrition.com/products/perpetuem.pp.html

It contains electrolytes but no fructose.

If you are cycling for over 3 hours consuming 90 g of carbs per hour is optimal for performance and this works best if you consume a mixture of carbs - glucose plus fructose or maltodextrin plus fructose in a 2 : 1 ratio.

^ this. Although 90g is too much for me. It depends on your body weight (amongst other things) as to how much carbs you can deal with, 90g is the highest I've figure I've heard. I'm sure hippy needs a hoisin crispy duck every 15mins.

Bananas take some beating, try them. Fructose and not too much fibre plus potassium, cheap and in biodegradable packaging too :-)

Seriously sweet, a little bit a fat.
Quite a good sugar hit but make my teeth hurt. They must be 120g of sugar per 100g or something.
Cool bite-size.
An exceptionally structural integrity (crunchy). No crumbs or stickyness on your fingers but they do break.
Packet size good but a crash hazard trying to get in for the last few.

**Overall: 6/10
**
The search continues ...

Things I like in my pocket

Mini fruit flapjacks from Sainsburys
Medjool dates
Banana Soreen
Columbian bocadillo guava sweets
Maple syrup in a triantelope gel bottle

Torque gells x 4 and a bison of myprotein pro long, combined with 3x500ml of water got me through a half IM I day without much trouble oh and a mini can of coke, had a spare gel and a second bottle of prolong that I planned to drink, but didn't need them for a longer activity I'd definitely drink the second bottle of prolong

That doesn't sound like very much.

Do YOU read the ingredients?

Yes I do.
I also live in a place where most of the PBs sold are not anywhere near natural.

Here's what a typical PB sold in Canada contains:

INGREDIENTS: SELECT ROASTED PEANUTS, SOYBEAN OIL, CORN MALTODEXTRIN, SUGAR, HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (COTTON SEED AND RAPESEED OIL), SALT, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES.

Nasty.

Jelly Babes FTW. Those gels are shit too.

x

Agree, theres nothing a packet of Jelly Babes won't get you thru

If you are flagging after a longish distance, you probably need a mixture of carbs. Gels might not cut it as they are too 'quick' and the portions are small. Try bread and jam if you can stomach it.

Too quick? Rubbish. More readily absorbed and therefore actually useful. Sugar!!!